Doggetts Coat & Badge Welcome to Doggett's Coat and Badge Famous for honouring the prize of a 300-yea-old boat race You will find Doggett's Coat and Badge in South Bank, London within a short stroll of Blackfriars Bridge, Stamford Street and Blackfriars Road - however you won't find another like it. Step in to discover a traditional pub of unique character, revered for its eclectic range of real ales and its quality pub food , which are served, as they should be, with a generous measure of famous British hospitality. A fascinating past For almost 300 years, there has been an amateur rowing race on the Thames, from London Bridge to Chelsea. Originally organised by Thomas Doggett, the winner was awarded a coat and badge, hence the historic origin of our name. Thomas Doggett was an actor who became manager at the Drury Lane Theatre, then the Haymarket Theatre before becoming a politician and wit. One of a kind Doggett's Coat and Badge is one of many rare gems in the Nicholson's collection of great British pubs, reputed for their distinctive buildings, intriguing history and vibrant atmosphere.

Where to find us Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section - Doggett's Coat & Badge Race Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section Leaflet Guides to Records: DOGGETT'S COAT & BADGE RACE Thomas Doggett, an Irish comedian and joint manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, provided in his will dated 10th September 1721, for a prize of a coat and silver badge to be rowed for annually by six watermen within a year of completing their apprenticeships. "... Five Pounds for a Badge of Silver weighing about Twelve Ounces and representing Liberty to be given to be rowed for by Six Young Watermen according to my Custom, Eighteen Shillings for Cloath for a Livery whereon the said Badge is to be put, One Pound One Shilling for making up the said Livery and Buttons and Appurtenances to it............ ...all which I would have to be continued yearly forever in Commemoration of His Majesty King Georges happy Accession to the Brittish Throne..." Doggett was no innovator in founding a race, as it was common custom for rowing wagers to take place on the river.

Being a Whig, he was passionately devoted to the House of Hanover and laid down that the race was to be held each "1st day of August forever" to commemorate the accession of George I, and he even adopted upon his silver badge the White Horse of Hanover with "Liberty" for the motto. Doggett organised the race himself from 1715 until his death in 1721, when he left instructions for the event to be managed by Mr Edward Burt of the Admiralty Office. However, as this proved too much of a burden, it was arranged that the executors of his will paid over to the Fishmongers' Company ï¿½300 and that the company, who also added ï¿½50 to the fund, should carry out Doggett's instructions. The course was originally four and half miles long from "The Swan" at London Bridge to "The Swan" at Chelsea. The Barge Master of the Fishmongers' Company would start the race and the Clerk of the Watermen and Lightermen's Hall would receive a fee of thirty shillings from each competitor (indicating that at one time the whole event was arranged by that company).

As a real test of stay and endurance, the race used to be rowed in heavy old wherries which had to be pulled up against the ebb tide - sometimes it took contestants nearly two hours to row the distance! The race soon became open to abuses as contestants realised the advantages of using lighter undersized vessels. In some instances riotous behaviour was reported between competitors. In 1723, one of the leaders of the race had his "scull knocked away and a big boat rowed across his bows". As a result, in 1769, the Fishmongers' Company decided to draw up some regulations to prevent such abuses. All vessels had to be "common Scullers Boats" and examined by the company. Originally, the six watermen were drawn by lots which meant that not all contestants had a fair chance of winning. Later in the 19th century a trial heat system at Putney was introduced to select the final best six men for the race. The winner was paraded every year at a banquet at Fishmongers' Hall wearing a bright crimson coat with the silver badge on his right arm.

At first the Coat and Badge formed the only prize, although later it was decided that the Fishmongers' Company should add ten pounds for the first prize and smaller sums of money for the runners up. A famous winner in 1730 was John Broughton, a champion pugilist. Another famous name was William Giles East, who won the race in 1887, the Sculling Championship of England in 1891, became a Queen's Watermen in 1898 and Barge Master to the King in 1906. Doggett's Coat & Badge race is the oldest annually contested event in the British sporting calendar. However, over the years there have been changes to Doggett's original instructions for the race. For example, from the 1950's amateur rowers were allowed to compete on the condition that they could not accept any prize money if they won. Today the race is held at the end of July, instead of the 1st of August, and in place of heavy wherries light sculling boats are rowed against the ebb tide. The average time taken is about 30 minutes.

SOURCES AVAILABLE: A great deal of information can be found in the archives of the Fishmongers' Company. The papers about Thomas Doggett's Coat and Badge, 1721-1832 (Guildhall Library Ms 7269) include: a copy of the will of Thomas Doggett, 1721; some lists of competitors and winners, 1815-32; a selection of posters for the race; and the Fishmongers' Company articles for starting the race, 1769. The records of the Fishmongers' Company and the Watermen and Lightermen's Company are available in the Manuscripts Section of the Library. A handlist summarising the records is available at the enquiry desk or may be purchased from the Library's bookshop. A complete list of winners of Doggett's Coat and Badge race for the years 1716-1907 may be found in T. A. Cook & G. Nickalls, Thomas Doggett Deceased, 1908 (Guildhall Library B/D654).

However, further incomplete lists for the years 1780-1880 are included in the Autumn 1991 issue of Cockney Ancestor, and for 1902-1963 in the Fishmongers' Company programme of Livery Receptions, 1964 (Guildhall Library Pam 11200). All these are available in the Printed Books Section of the Library. A list of winners of Doggett's Coat and Badge race 1780-2003 is appended below. A complete list of winners is to be found on the CD-ROM version of R. J. Cottrell's index to the apprentice bindings of the Waterman and Lightermen's Company. The Printed Books Section also holds the following sources relating to the history of Thomas Doggett's prize: The coat: the origin and times of Thomas Doggett's immortal wager: the story of the oldest annual sporting contest by R. G. Crouch, 2005 (Guildhall Library SL 51:2), Thomas Doggett Pictured by Leon Walter, 1980 (Guildhall Library, B/D654); "Notes on old Chelsea" by J.

Jeffery, Home Counties Magazine, vol.8, 1906, p.279-82 and The Antiquary, vol.19, 1889, p.22-8. The Prints & Maps Section of the Library holds various prints, photographs and newspaper cuttings about the race in their Noble Collection (Guildhall Library C26.15), as well as caricatures of Watermen and Lightermen by the famous early 19th century artist Thomas Rowlandson. Any enquiries concerning records of Thomas Doggett's Coat & Badge race not held by the Library should be addressed to the Clerk, Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge, London, EC4R 9EL. Further information about the race can be found at , and on the Company's own website . Winners of Doggetts Coat and Badge Race between 1780 and 2003: Doggett's Coat & Badge Race (1920-1929) - YouTube Doggett's Coat & Badge Race (1920-1929) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video?

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 13, 2014 Doggett's Coat and Badge Race - River Thames, London. A man in a old-fashioned military type uniform w/ large shiny disc on the sleeve stands on deck of a boat at foot of bridge; he speaks through a megaphone. Shot looking down at one of the racers climbing from rowboat to a long; narrow racing scull; another man in the rowboat helps him w/ the long oars. He rows off. More rowers going under bridge. Sculls line up for start of race. Man on larger boat gives signal to start. Tracking shots of sculls as they go past. Note: traditional sculling prize for Thames watermen; the race was founded in 1715 by Irish actor Thomas Doggett and is run every August 1. FILM ID:2404.17 A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV.

IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT Category Doggett's Coat & Badge Race - British Pathé British Pathé This video has no sound Description Doggett's Coat and Badge Race - River Thames, London. A man in a old-fashioned military type uniform w/ large shiny disc on the sleeve stands on deck of a boat at foot of bridge; he speaks through a megaphone. Shot looking down at one of the racers climbing from rowboat to a long; narrow racing scull; another man in the rowboat helps him w/ the long oars. He rows off. More rowers going under bridge. Sculls line up for start of race. Man on larger boat gives signal to start. Tracking shots of sculls as they go past. Note: traditional sculling prize for Thames watermen; the race was founded in 1715 by Irish actor Thomas Doggett and is run every August 1.

A Small Race with a Long History on the Thames - The New York Times The New York Times Olympics |On the Thames, a Race Almost 300 Years Old for a Coat and Badge Search Continue reading the main story Photo Competitors passing Fishmongers’ Hall shortly after the start of the Doggett’s Coat and Badge race, which is managed by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. Credit Luke Wolagiewicz for The New York Times LONDON — The victory party for what some claim to be the oldest continuously running sporting contest in the world took place among a workaday Friday afternoon crowd at a pub called the Hung Drawn and Quartered. While anything remotely related to sports is being smothered with news coverage these days in Olympics-saturated London, there were very few here in the way of news media and spectators. This was just as well, as the young victor of the six-man rowing race, a 23-year-old named Merlin Dwan, was a bit far along in his celebration. “You’re way too late,” a friend warned a reporter, as the sole camera crew on site attempted fruitlessly to conduct an interview.

But the most striking celebrator at the bar was a past winner of the contest, Gary Brian Anness, who, while behaving with more reserve, wore his 30-year-old victory on his sleeve. In addition to the orange-red tunic, cap and knee breeches, plus the white stockings and buckled shoes, he was wearing on his upper arm an engraved silver medallion the size of a salad plate. Continue reading the main story Such are the spoils of the Doggett’s Coat and Badge race, a single scull rowing contest that has been run on the River Thames for nearly 300 years. There have been suggestions on how to raise the profile of this little-known event: perhaps a corporate sponsorship, or a more convenient spot for the finish line. But Anness, a tugboat pilot whose son won the race in 2011, was having none of it. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Thomas Doggett didn’t change it,” he said. “Why should anyone else?” There are a number of contenders for the oldest sporting contest in Britain, the motherland of modern sport.

The Antient Scorton Silver Arrow in North Yorkshire, for example, boasts on its Web site of a history of archery competition dating to 1673 (“except in periods of various Wars”), while the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers, based in Scotland, brags that its Annual Papingo Shoot goes back nearly 200 years before that. Those in the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, the 740-year-old organization that manages the Doggett’s race, acknowledge some of their rivals, albeit grudgingly. The news release for this year’s race said that the records of the Antient Silver Arrow betray a 35-year gap while pointing out that no records exist before 1891 to document that the Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Derbyshire has indeed taken place annually since the 12th century. Besides, the releases emphasized, the soccer match is “a team event,” and thus a different matter. At the very least, the Doggett’s race is undoubtedly Britain’s oldest rowing competition, beating the famed Oxford and Cambridge boat race by more than 100 years. And it runs right through the heart of London.

Photo Merlin Dwan, who won the Doggett’s Coat and Badge race on the Thames. The event is almost 300 years old. Credit Luke Wolagiewicz for The New York Times The race begins at the London Bridge, once the site of the Swann Tavern, and ends in Chelsea, where the race’s founder, Thomas Doggett, kept his home. This route takes the six competing scullers and the attendant boats of spectators, including an umpire who wears a bicorn and a gold-braided admiral’s coat, through prime tourist territory. But it draws only occasional waves from the banks of the river. Next to the Thames’s world-famous regattas, this race is considered a curious anachronism if it is considered at all. “This is a very bespoke race,” said Ted Manning, the steward of the Fishmongers’ Company. “It really has to do with a small sliver of the country.” And, he added forthrightly, “In terms of a spectator event, it can be pretty boring.” Still, the Doggett’s race harks back to a particularly colorful era in the making of modern sports.

The British drive for organizing and standardizing sports occurred roughly in two phases, explained Julian Norridge, the author of “Can We Have Our Balls Back, Please? How the British Invented Sport” Most well-known is the second of these phases: the organizing of activities like rowing and rugby in the boarding schools and amateur clubs of the 19th century, when the Victorians decided that sport was not a corrupting distraction but a healthy way to build character. Advertisement The Doggett’s race, however, belongs to an earlier, rowdier and more commercialized era, when leisured elites and working men alike were united by a shared love of wagering. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy “Gambling was one of the reasons they started laying down rules, because people wanted to know what they were betting on,” Norridge said. This was when rules were formulated for cricket , horse racing and boxing — the first rules of boxing, in fact, were drawn up by an early winner of the Doggett’s race, a waterman-turned-prizefighter named Jack Broughton.

Doggett himself was not a sportsman. Born in Dublin, he achieved fame as a comic actor and impresario in London. (His breakout role, as most accounts seem obliged to point out, was as a character named Deputy Nincompoop.) Photo A past winner of the Doggett’s Coat and Badge wearing the traditional tunic, cap and knee breeches. Credit Luke Wolagiewicz for The New York Times In 1715, to mark the occasion of George I’s accession to the throne as well as to honor a young man who ferried him home one dreary night, Doggett announced a race for watermen who had just finished their apprenticeships. As in other, similar races of the time, and there were many, the winner would receive a coat and badge, comparable to a modern taxi medallion. Doggett also left a small annuity, along with the instruction that the race be held “for ever.” It has been, so far, and under roughly the same set of rules.

Mingling among the double-breasted blazers and pinstriped suits on the pleasure boat that trailed the race on Friday were several men who wore the orange-red livery marking them as past winners, or Doggettsmen. In addition to their knee breeches, they differed from many of the others sipping Champagne aboard the spectator boat because they were watermen and earned their livelihoods on the river. The others were for the most part members of the Fishmongers’ Company, which has administered the race since shortly after Doggett’s death. As is the case with many of city’s oldest trade associations — but unlike the watermen — the name Fishmongers’ Company has become mostly misleading. “Basically, they’re fishmongers who run banks,” explained Chris Dowd, a historian of rowing who is working on a book about the watermen of the Thames. While the race is limited to watermen, many are excellent rowers. Several have gone on to the Olympics.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Gary Brian Anness, who was the commentator for this year’s race, relating via radio who was “lively from the start” and who had “a tendency to be a hothead” from aboard the small and sparsely peopled press boat, explained that victory belonged not simply to the strongest but to who had the most intimate knowledge of the river. For this reason, Doggett’s victories tend to run in river families. Merlin Dwan’s father, a tugboat captain, won in 1977, while his uncle Kenny Dwan, who runs a boatyard, won the race between competing at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. Two of Merlin’s cousins have won as well. Four out of five of the victorious Dwans appeared at the Hung Drawn and Quartered, posing for group photographs and celebrating the latest win in the Dwan dynasty. It is an impressive tally, Anness said, “but it’s not a record.

The Phelps family had 10.” A version of this article appears in print on July 25, 2012, on Page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Rowing Not for Gold but for a Coat and Badge. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Video of the 2015 Race The Course The Doggett’s Race is held each summer on the Thames, between London Bridge and Cadogan Pier (Chelsea) - the sites of the Old Swan Tavern and the Swan Inn Chelsea. Up to six young watermen will row under 11 bridges on the 4 mile 7 furlong (7,400 metre) course. Throughout its 300 year history the race has remained relatively unchanged. However until 1873, competitors rowed against the tide using four-seater passenger wherries and there are stories of the race taking over two hours to complete. Since then the race has been rowed with the tide and the passenger wherries have been replaced by modern sculling boats.

The time now taken to complete the course is between 25 to 30 minutes and in 1973 Bobby Prentice, now Bargemaster to the Fishmongers' Company and Upper Warden of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen, set the fastest recorded time of 23 minute 22 seconds. Doggett's Coat & Badge Race - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE THIS BEING THE DAY OF HIS MAJESTY'S HAPPY ACCESSION TO THE THRONE THERE WILL BE GIVEN BY MR. DOGGETT AN ORANGE COLOUR LIVERY WITH A BADGE REPRESENTING LIBERTY TO BE ROWED FOR BY SIX WATERMEN THAT ARE OUT OF THEIR TIME WITHIN THE YEAR PAST. THEY ARE TO ROW FROM LONDON BRIDGE TO CHELSEA. IT WILL BE CONTINUED ANNUALLY ON THE SAME DAY FOR EVER.

1721: Thomas Doggett died leaving instructions in his will - ...purchase freehold lands of inheritance to the value of ten pounds per annum, and cause such lands when purchased to be conveyed to Edward Burt of the Admiralty Office, Esquire, his heirs and assigns, subject to and for ever chargeable with the laying out, furnishing and procuring yearly, on the first day of August (unless the same happen to be on a Sunday and then to be on the Monday following) for ever the following particulars, that is to say: Five pounds for a Badge of Silver weighing about twelve ounces and representing Liberty, to be rowed for by six young watermen according to his custom; Eighteen shillings for cloth for a livery whereon the said Badge is to be put; One and twenty shillings for making up the said livery, buttons and appurtenances to it; And thirty shillings to the clerk of the Watermen's Hall.

By deed dated November 29 it was agreed by his executors and the said Edward Burt that they should pay to the Fishmonger's Company the sum of £350 in discharge of such trusts, the said Company granting an annuity or rent of £10 per annum and covenanting to carry out the trusts of the said will By said deed it is provided that the said badge shall also have the impress of a wild horse in such a manner as was used by Mr. Dogget in his life time, and round the plate shall be in fair letters: The gift of Mr. Thomas Dogget the late famous Comedian THE COURSE: "the claimants should start off upon a given signal at the time of the tide when the current is strongest against them, from the Old Swan at London Bridge to the White Swan at Chelsea" Above London Bridge to Chelsea - with, in 1715, no bridges!

In 1715 Old London Bridge looked like this - Southwark Bridge was not started until 1814 The Millenium Bridge was a mere wobble 290 years in the future Blackfriars Railway Bridge was not built until 1864 Blackfriars Bridge was not built until 1760 Waterloo Bridge started in 1811 Brunel's Hungerford Suspension Bridge was built in 1841 and replaced by Charing Cross Railway Bridge in 1864 Westminster Bridge was not built until 1738 Lambeth Suspension Bridge was built in 1862 and replaced in 1929 Vauxhall Bridge was started in 1811 Vauxhall Railway Bridge was opened in 1860 And Chelsea Bridge was started in 1851 and replaced in 1935 1716 1788 Thomas Radbourne, Wandsworth 1789 J Curtis 1785: The missing year above may have been won by "Natty Jerry" whose song is preserved by the Fishmongers' Company - I was the pride of the Thames My name was Natty Jerry The best

 of Smart and flashy dames, I've carried in my Wherry.

For then no mortal soul like me, So merrily did jog it, I loved my wife, my friend, d'ye see, And won the prize of Doggett. In Coat and Badge so neat and spruce, I rowed all blithe and merry, And every Waterman did use To call me Happy Jerry 1790 Byers 1864 David Coombes, Horsleydown 1864: ... The wind was blowing very freshly from S.W. and down several of the reaches the water was very "lumpy" indeed. The steamers started from London Bridge about one o'clock, and gradually made their way between the crowd of boats through Blackfriars Bridge where they waited for the racing boats to pass them. ... A capital start was effected, all getting away together, but halfway between the Old Swan and Southwark Bridge, Kilsby came away, followed by Coombes; the pair making a great gap between themselves and the other four. ... At Southwark Bridge, Kilsby was half a length before Coombes, both, considering the lively condition of the river, rowing at a great pace.

So level and close were the leaders that it appeared almost certain a foul would take place, and Frank Kilsby, when shouted to from his cutter, "eased up", thinking that he could overhaul Coombes at any time. Master Dave [Coombes] seized the opportunity, and went ahead, followed as soon as possible by his cutter, giving Kilsby as much of their wash as possible. A desperate race ensued to Blackfriars Bridge between Coombes and Kilsby, the former leading by a length and a half clear and so far before the others that all interest in the race was centred in the first two boats. ... At Waterloo Bridge, Kilsby put on a good spurt and rapidly decreased Coombes' lead, and at Westminster Bridge Coombes, when called upon by his coach, not only put on a good lively stroke, but laughed as he did so. Coombes had now settled down to his work, and his style of rowing strongly reminded us of his father - the ex Champion - the same quickness being exhibited in the feather, the sharp and effective clip of the water, the steady and powerful lift, and the same full power to the end of the stroke.

Kilsby was rowing as well as ever we have seen him, but from the manner he buried his boat and from time to time took in water it was certain he was either underboated or had his work too low. ... Coombes was leading by six clear lengths at Westminster Bridge, but so persistent was Kilsby in his steady pursuit of his opponent that David had no time to rest. From Lambeth to Vauxhall Bridge, Coombes gradually increased his advantage to ten clear lengths. The wind was now a "dead noser" all through Battersea Reach, and it was thought by the Kilsbyites that their man's extra weight would bring him to the front through the lumpy water, but to their surprise Coombes held his own with apparent ease past Nine Elms and Pimlico Piers. The tide had now dropped, but the ebb had not fairly made, and as the competitors rowed under Chelsea New Bridge they had almost to stop rowing in consequence of the strength of the wind and the roughness of the water.

The work was very severe the remaining portion of the distance, but Coombes, if anything, increased his lead, and won by 55 sec from Frank Kilsby. The winner, who accomplished the distance in 33 min. 12 sec., rowed in the celebrated 'Antigallican', built by G. Salter, and was coached up by George Sinclair, Thames Bank, in an eight-oared cutter, steered by Tom Coombes. Frank Kilsby ... was shown up by his brother, John Kilsby, in the leviathan ten-oared cutter, steered by Horace Cole, of Chelsea ... 1865 J W Wood, Mill Stairs 1866 A Iles, Kew 1898 A J Carter, Greenwich 1899 J See, Hammersmith Six watermen were competing in this race on 3 August [1899]: Henry William Gobbett of Poplar, Moses Lewis Thomas Gibson of Putney, John Thomas Phelps of Putney, Thomas Alfred Chapman of Bermondsay, Charles William Terry of Bermondsay, and John Jack See of Hammersmith.

The day after the race, which was between London Bridge and the Old Swan at Chelsea, a distance of close to five miles, The Times published a short race report. In the article it says that Gobbett was best off at the start, but after 50 yards Phelps passed him, and at Blackfriars Bridge, he had a two-and-a-half lengths lead. Gobbett was second, four lengths in front of Gibson, and then Chapman, See, and Terry. The Timess correspondent writes: See wisely kept over on the Surrey shore in smooth water, and by the time Westminster Bridge was reached he was nearly, if not quite, level with Phelps. At Lambeth and Vauxhall Bridges, See was ahead, and at Nine Elms, Phelps spurted but, "made little impression on the leader, who was rowing with good judgment. See won easily in 27 min. 34 sec. However, The Times writes, After the race the executive, considering that one of the competitors had been coached, which is against the rules, would not decide upon the winner. At a dinner held by the Fishmongers Company, See was pronounced the winner.

Gibson was second, Phelps third, and then Chapman, Terry, and Gobbett.

Twenty winners: 1868 A Egalton of Blackwall, 1869 G Wright of Bermondsey, 1874 R W Burwood of Wapping, 1875 W Phelps of Putney, 1877 J Tarryer of Rotherhithe, 1878 T E Taylor of Hermitage Stairs, 1870 H Cordery of Putney, 1880 W J Cobb of Putney, 1884 C Phelps of Putney, 1886 H Cole of Deptford, 1888 C R Harding of Chelsea, 1889 G M Green of Barnes, 1890 J T G Sansom of Strand-on-the-Green, 1892 G Webb of Gravesend, 1896 R J Carter of Greenwich, 1897 T Bullman of Shadwell, 1898 A J Carter of Greenwich, 1900 J J Turffery of Bankside, 1902 R G Odell of Lambeth, 1904 W A Pizzey of Lambeth.

1900 J J Turferry 1904 W A Pizzey, Lambeth Doggett's Coat and badge Race. The Start, 1906 1908: "Thomas Doggett Deceased" was published by Archibald Constable & Co. on behalf of the Fishmonger's Company, written by Theodore Andrea Cook (Oxford Blue 1889) and Guy Nickalls (Oxford Blues 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891. Olympic Gold 1908) A reproduction was published by 'Tiger of the Stripe' in 2009 and Peter Danckwerts generously sent me a copy. Much of what is here comes from that book. The race is nowadays [1906] rowed with the tide and passes under no less than eleven bridges. Our friend Doggett would indeed be astounded could he take boat at the "Old Swan" and, following his race, take note of the various styles of engineering feats expressed in these eleven bridges of iron and stone which now exist where none existed in his day.

The modern [1906] competitor at the start goes to obtain the full force of the tide as near the centre of the river as possible, and thus passes under Cannon Street Railway Bridge and also Southwark Bridge; he then pulls his left a bit and works slightly over to the Surrey side of the stream, and should take either the second or third span from the Surrey side in passing under Blackfriars Bridge; keeping towards the Surrey side still, but not actually hugging the shore, he passes under Waterloo Bridge through an arch, as much on the Surrey side as the moored barges there allow him. This is usually the third or fourth arch from the Surrey shore. Racing on to Hungerford Bridge, he tries to get through the fourth span from the Surrey shore, for here he knows he will receive the full benefit of the tide again, but if he be baulked of this he goes for the third span from the same shore. The men nearly always part here. Some prefer to cling to the Surrey shore until nearly at the top end of St Thomas' Hospital. Others make the crossing for the Middlesex shore just below Westminster Bridge, passing under the second or third arch from the Middlesex side.

If the do this they pass along the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and make for the Middlesex opening through the Lambeth Suspension Bridge [1862-1929], where the water is usually smoother. Those who have held on to the Surrey shore generally join company with their opponents at this spot. Having passed this bridge, they should rather hug the Middlesex shore, as not only is it the nearest way home, but the tide runs pretty freely down that side past the Old Westminster Horse Ferry, owned at one time by the famous Cole, forbear of no less than three winners of the Coat and Badge. And so on and up through Vauxhall Bridge, where most of the competitors take the second span from the Middlesex bank; some knowing ones, however, often choose the middlesex span, arguing that what they lose in tide is made up for by smooth water.

From here they pull their left a bit until after passing Pimlico, where they should be in the centre of the river once more, taking number two arch from the Surrey shore under the Grosvenor Railway Bridge and plumb through the centre of the Victoria Foot Bridge and make their nearest way to the flag moored off the Swan House, about a hundred and fifty yards or so below the Albert Bridge ... From around 1906 the race used outrigged sculling boats rather than the much heavier wager boats used previously. 1905 Henry Silvester, Hammersmith No races during the first world war. 1920: THE TIMES, 13 July - DOGGETT'S COAT AND BADGE Racing for the historic sculling trophy (for watermen's apprentices) known as Doggett's Coat and Badge will take place over the usual course from London Bridge to Chelsea on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 3 and 4. Owing to the fact that no races have been held since 1914, separate races will be held for each year since 1914 for the watermen who would have been entitled to take up their "freedom" in that year.

The following is a list of competitors:- 1915 Race. - T.Biffen (Hammersmith), T. Hayes (Deptford), L.P.J. West (Wapping). 1916 Race. - W.M.Bartlett (Richmond), A.J.Gobbett (Greenwich), J.M. McKinney (Richmond), L.E.Muller (Poplar), L.E.Pearce (Hammersmith), A.Peters (Chiswick), M.Smith (Richmond). 1917 Race. - J.H.Blackman (Gravesend), A.A.Green (Chiswick), W.Hayes (Chiswick), S.R.Spong (Twickenham), J.J.Wardle (Wapping). 1918 Race. - H.W.Carter (Deptford), A.E.Cobb (Putney), A.Gibbs (Richmond), B.J.A.Spencer (Greenwich). 1919 Race.

- E.Bogg (Poplar), W.H.Bullman (Bow), P.J.Cordery (Putney), W.D.Gulliver (Deptford), A.Johnson (Victoria Docks), H.T.Phelps (Putney), W.J.Plume (Deptford). As there are more than six competitors for 1916 and 1919, trial heats will be rowed on Wednesday July 28, from Putney to Hammersmith. In addition no doubt to the 1920 race not mentioned in The Times article. 1915 West, L.P.J., Wapping No races during the second world war. 1947: The Times, 22 May - DOGGETT'S COAT AND BADGE The Doggett's Coat and badge sculling races for watermen will be held on July 21 and 22 for the first time since 1939, and so as no to interrupt the continuity of this historic race all the events held in abeyance during the war will be decided, making a total of eight races in all.

The race, instituted in 1716, takes place over the London Bridge to Chelsea stretch of the Thames, a distance of four and a quarter miles, and is open to watermen who are or will be out of their time on or before July 15. The 1940-43 races will be rowed on July 21, the first at 1.30pm and the last at 5.45pm. The 1944-47 events on the following day will be started at 2.15pm, the last race being at 6.30pm. Thomas Doggett, who instituted the race, was an Irish comedian. 1940 Lupton, E.G., Northfleet

Question: What type of race is Doggett's coat and badge?
Answer: Rowing